Ophthalmic mounting



Get. 20, 1936. E. M. SPLAINE OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Filed Jan. 4, 1954 fdlgghd TI'LSp/aine yfi/MAZ A T EY Patented Oct. 20, 1936 OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Edward M. Spla-ine, Southbridge, Mass., assignor to American Optical Company, Southbridge, Mass, a voluntary association of Massachusetts Application January 4, 1934, Serial No. 705,222

8 Claims. (01. 88-43) This invention relates to improvements in ophthalmic mountings and has particular reference to that type of mounting intended to be retained on the face through spring actuated guard levers.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an improved bridge member for an opthalmic mounting of the type commonly known in the art as a fingerpiece mounting which embodies pivoted spring actuate-d nose guards wherein the guard supports and spring means will be substantially invisible and inconspicuous when the mounting is on the face of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bridge member having a central arch portion and depending side portions with adjustable loops between said central arch and depending portions and so arranged and formed as to provide maximum adjustment between said portions and also to enable the insertion of an assembling tool for uniting or separating the parts of the resilient guard connections.

Another object is to provide an improved bridge member having depending side portions behind which the parts of the guard arm connections to the mounting may be concealed and which have rearwardly extending shelf portions adjacent the lower ends thereof for supporting the said guard arms and guard connections and which provide attaching means for the lens straps or lens holding means of the mounting.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and it will be apparent that many changes and modifications in the arrangement and construction of the parts shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed inv the accompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangements shown and described as the preferred forms only have been shown by way of illustration.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. I is a partial front elevation of an ophthalmic mounting embodying the invention;

Fig. II is a plan view of the mounting shown in Fig. I;

Fig. III is a sectional view taken on line IIIIII of Fig. II;

Fig. IV is a rear perspective view of one end of the bridge members and guard arm attachments showing the parts separated;

Fig. V is a fragmentary front elevation of a modified form of bridge member; and

Fig. VI is a plan view of the bridge member shown in Fi V.

Much difiiculty has been encountered in the past in providing a suitable fingerpiece type mounting having the desirable pivoted spring actuated nose guards wherein the spring means and guard connections of such mountings could be arranged to produce a practical structure both from the standpoint of design and utility and which would be acceptable to the trade.

The difiiculty encountered in this particular type of mounting was that the guard arm supports and resilient means for actuating the guard arms had to be positioned to clear the nose and were therefore of such a nature as to be very conspicuous and displeasing in appearance.

It, therefore, is one of the primary objects of this invention to provide means whereby the desired parts of a fingerpiece type mounting may be provided and yet be of such a nature as to be substantially invisible and inconspicuous when in use.

Referring more particularly to the drawing wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout, the device embodying the invention comprises a relatively rigid central arch portion I having, as showing in Fig.

I, rearwardly curved end portions 2 which are looped downwardly and turned forwardly at 3 substantially in the vertical plane. The forwardly extending portions 3 are curved inwardly toward each other and are shaped to follow the curve of the central arch portion 1 to a point 4 wherein.

they turn outwardly and downwardly to form the depending side portions 5. The side portions 5 are turned rearwardly adjacent their lower ends to form shelf members 6 or the said shelves 6 may be made separate and may be secured to the rear of the portions 5 by solder or like means as indicated at 1. The rearwardly extending shelf members are adapted to provide supports to which the lens straps or lens holding means 8 may be attached and also to provide a pivot connection for the guard arms. The shelves 6 are each provided with a central opening in which the upright tubular members 9 are secured. The said tubular members are adapted to form pivot bearings for the tubular posts I0 carried by the guard arms I l The tubular posts [0 are in each instance adapted to fit within the internal bore of the tubular members 9 and are held therein by retaining screws or like means [2. It is to be understood that the tubular members In have threaded bores which are adapted to receive the threaded portions I3 of the screws. The tubular members 9 also provide supports for the coil springs I4 which, as shown in Figures III and IV, are adapted to engage the lens straps at one of their ends I5 and the guard arms at their opposite ends I6. The heads of the screws I2 are of such a size as to hold the coils of the spring members I4 on the tubular members 9 during the use of the mounting.

Attention is directed to the fact that the tubular members 9, springs I4 and screws I2 lie in the rear of the depending portions 5 of the bridge member I when in use and that the said depending portions 5 act as shields to conceal the parts from view when they are in assembled relation v with each other.

Attention is also directed to the fact that the.

ends 2 of the central arch portion I are so curved and shaped as to provide means whereby a screwdriver or other suitable tool may be inserted from the top of the mountingto tighten the parts together,.see Fig. II.

The lens holding means or lens engaging portions I1 of the lens straps 8 are shown with perforations 25 therein which are adapted to be aligned with a perforation in the lens I8 and to receive a retaining screw or other suitable connecting means not shown.

The guard arms II are provided with fingerpiece members I9 by which the nose guards may 'be spread apart to be fitted and clamped on the nose in a manner similar to prior art structures of this nature.

In Figs. V and VI there is shown a slight modification wherein the ends of the central arch portion I are curved forwardly at 28 substantially -each provided with a forwardly curving loop portion 22 which terminates in a nose engaging portion 23 having at'its upper end a pivoted pad member.

7 It is apparent that although applicant has described the central arched portions I as being made rigid, they may be made resilient if desired.

In both of the above structures the forwardly extending portion 3 and the loops 20 provide means whereby the distance between the lenses may be varied so that the mounting may be adjusted to compensate for variations in the distance between the pupils of the eyes of different individuals. This adjustment is accomplished in the case of the structure shown in Figs. I to IV inclusive by bending the forwardly extending portions 3 sidewise. It is to be understood that the ends of the central arch portion I may also .be bent sidewise to aid in accomplishing this arch portions may be adjusted toward and away from the face to fit the nose of the wearer.

The height of the arches I of the bridges may also be varied during manufacture of the mounting by attaching the shelf-like member 5 at varying positions longitudinally thereof. It is apparent that by attaching the shelf-like member 5 at the extreme lower end of the depending portion, the arch portions I will be higher when in use, and by attaching the shelf-like member 6 at a'position higher up on the depending portions, the said arch portions will be lower. It is to be understood that the central arch portions I may be formed of a rigid, ductile or resilient material as desired, and that the main bridge members including the central arch portions I and depending portions 5 or 2|, as the case may be, may include one or .more of these characteristics.

Attention is directed to the fact that the depending portions 5 and 2| in use may be angled to the angle of the sides of the nose of the wearer so that they will taper upwardly with, respect to each other, and produce the effect of narrowing .the arch of the bridge. This is particularly true of the structure shown in Figs. V and VI. It is pointed out that the side portions 5 and 2I having a width greater than their thickness with the plane of the width lying substantially parallel with the plane of the lenses and providing means for concealing the pivot parts from view when the mounting is viewed from the front.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided simple, efficient and economical means of obtaining all of .the objects and advantages of the invention, particularly,

that of providing means whereby the guard and guard arm connections 'to the bridge member may be concealed from. view and means whereby the parts may be easily assembled or separated.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. In a bridge for connecting the lenses of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion curving rearwardly adjacent its ends to loop portions, said loopportions having forwardly extending portions which are deflected sidewise and downwardly to form front pieces lying substantially in a vertical plane, said front pieces having rearwardly and substantially normally extending shelf like members adjacent the lower ends thereof and means on the outer edges of the shelf like members for attaching the bridge member to the lenses of the mounting.

2. In a bridge for connecting the lenses of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion curving rearwardly adjacent its ends to ,loops which lie substantially in a verticallplane and turn forwardly and terminate in depending side portions, said sidev portions having rearwardly extending shelf like members adjacent their low er ends formed with pivot receiving aperturesin which a spring actuated nose guard supporting arm may be pivotally mounted so that the pivot connection and spring means of each arm will be located in the rear of the depending side portions and means on each shelf like member for attching the bridge member to the lenses of the mounting.

3. In a bridge for connecting the lenses of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch i portion curving rearwardly adjacent its ends to loop portions which lie substantially in a vertical plane, said loopportions having forwardly extending portions which are deflected sidewisesand downwardly to form front pieces lyingsubstantially in a vertical plane andsubstantially norn al t th plane of the loops, said front pieces having rearwardly and substantially normally extending shelf like members adjacent the lower ends thereof and means on the outer edges of said shelf like members for attaching the bridge member to the lenses of the mounting.

4. In a bridge for connecting the lenses of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion curving rearwardly adjacent its ends to loop portions which lie substantially in a horizontal plane, said loop portions having forwardly extending portions which are deflected sidewise and downwardly to form front pieces lying substantially in a vertical plane and substantially flush with the front of the central arch portion, said front pieces having rearwardly and substantially normally extending shelf like members adjacent the lower ends thereof and means on the outer edges of said shelf like members for attaching the bridge member to the lenses of the mounting.

5. In a bridge for connecting the lens holding means of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion having rearwardly extending end portions shaped substantially to the curve of the bridge of the nose and terminating in forwardly extending portions progressing outwardly toward each other substantially to the plane of the front of the central arch portion wherein they are turned sidewise and downwardly to form depending side portions lying substantially in a vertical plane and substantially in line with the front of the arch portion, said depending side portions having rearwardly extending shelf like members adjacent their lower ends formed with pivot receiving apertures in which spring actuated nose guard supporting arms may be pivotally mounted so that the pivot connection and spring means of each arm will be located in the rear of the depending side portions and will be substantially invisible when the mounting is viewed from the front, said shelf like members providing means for attachment to the holding means.

6. In a bridge for connecting the lenses of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion curving rearwardly adjacent its ends to loops which turn forwardly to a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the lenses and then turn downwardly substantially in a vertical plane to form depending side portions, said side portions having a width greater than their thickness with the plane of the width lying substantially parallel with the plane of the lenses and having rearwardly extending shelf like members adjacent their lower ends formed with pivot receiving apertures in which a spring actuated nose guard supporting arm may be pivotally mounted so that the pivot connection and spring means of each arm will be located in the rear of the depending side portions and means on each shelflike member for attaching the bridge member to the lenses of the mounting.

7. In a bridge for connecting the lens holding means of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion having rearwardly curving end portions terminating in forwardly extending portions progressing outwardly to turns which blend into depending side portions, lens holding means attached to said depending side portions, pivot means supported in the rear of each of said depending portions in which spring actuated nose guard supporting means may be pivotally mounted so that the pivot connection and spring means of each of the nose guard supports will be located in the rear of said depending portions and will be substantially invisible when the mounting is viewed from the front.

8. In a bridge for connecting the lens holding means of an ophthalmic mounting, a central arch portion having rearwardly curving and downwardly extending end portions terminating in forwardly extending portions progressingoutwardly to relatively sharp turns which blend into depending side portions, lens holding means attached to said depending side portions, tubular bearing means supported in the rear of each of said depending portions in which the tubular bearing means of spring actuated nose guard supporting arms may be pivotally mounted so that the pivot connection and spring means of each of the nose guard supporting arms will be located in the rear of said depending portions and will be substantially invisible when the mounting is viewed from the front.

EDWARD M. SPLAINE. 

